13 posts from February 21, 2013

February 21, 2013

When Broward GOP chair Rico Petrocelli fired off a letter Tuesday saying he was quitting due to "irreconcilable differences" with the board, vice chair Christine Butler said she was surprised and that he didn't discuss it with the board first.

"That is his characterization," she said. "I would not have said that. I didn't really feel that was an appropriate description. ... We are a new board. We have only had a couple of meetings."

Petrocelli quitting after such a short amount of time during a political off-season suggests general personality or management conflicts -- not tensions over supporting any particular candidate or tea party vs. moderate divisions.

Petrocelli was elected without opposition in December after failed Congressional candidate Karen Harrington dropped out. He has not elaborated on his reasons for quitting. Petrocelli has taken some hits in the press for a state ethics fine and a bankruptcy filing but both occurred before he sought the chair position.

Butler, a lawyer from Davie, will now serve as interim chair and said she may run for the post. The Broward Republican Executive Committee will hold an election within 60 days -- possibly at their next scheduled meeting March 18th. No word yet on whether they will allow the press inside to cover the event that could include airing some internal strife (the group allowed the press in 2010 but barred them in 2012.)

As
an answer to fixing Florida’s flawed election system, State Senator
Oscar Braynon, along with civil rights organizations Florida New
Majority and Advancement Project, are joining North Miami resident
Desiline Victor to introduce a bill that will protect and improve the
right to vote in Florida.

Sen.
Braynon’s SB 888 – Desiline’s Free and Fair Democracy Act – helps
modernize the state’s voting system and enshrines the fundamental right
to vote into state law.

The
event is at the North Miami Public Library, where Ms. Victor, age 102,
was forced to stand in line for hours before being able to cast her
ballot. Her story became national news when Advancement Project brought
her to the attention of the White House, after the organization
discovered her during her struggle to vote. President Barack Obama
recounted her voting experience during the recent State of the Union
address, as Ms. Victor received a standing ovation from lawmakers while
sitting in First Lady Michelle Obama’s box.

Despite a shower of complaints from Democrats, another House
committee approved a bill to revamp how money is channeled in political
elections and raised the budget to add state regulators to monitor the
process.

The House Appropriations Committee voted along party lines
to approve a bill the will eliminate the controversial Committees of Continuing
Existence, raise the cap on contributions form $500 to $10,000 and allow up to $100,000 to be transferred from committees and candiates to other committees and candidates.

The committee amended the bill to provide three additional staff
to the Secretary of State’s office to monitor the increased reporting
requirements in the bill. Under the plan, political committees and candidates
would be required to submit daily reports on their contributions during the
last 10 days of the election cycle. Political parties, which would be allowed
to continue accepting unlimited checks any time during the campaign cycle,
would be exempt from the accelerated transparency requirement.

The bill “brings the greatest transparency to the political
world in the United States,’’
said Rep. Rob Schenck, R-Spring Hill, the sponsor of the bill.

Democrats, however, disagreed the bill will result in true
reform. They tried and failed to amend the bill to lower the campaign
contribution cap back to the existing level of $500 and to allow organizations
such as unions, who make multiple small contributions, to consolidate their
contributions under the reporting requirements.

“Unfortunately the end result will be the same game with a
different name,’’ said Rep. Mark Pafford, D-West Palm Beach. "With this language, we’re going to approve a volume -- millions
on a monthly basis -- of individual donor information that is leading to us
increasing the dollars we spend at the department of state to basically handle
the bill."

Rep. Janet Cruz, D-Tampa, said she was personally
uncomfortable with a provision in the bill that allows candidates and political
committees to retain $100,000 in their campaign accounts for the next election.

“That doesn’t speak for fair elections. It speaks to incumbency protection,’’
she said.

Republicans countered that there is already unlimited campaign cash in the system but transparency is needed.

“The United States Supreme Court has decided that contributiong to political
parties is a form of free speech,’’ said Rep. Steve Precourt, R-Orlando. “What
we’re doing is a great step in the right direction, especially the transparency
requirements.”